SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Took Off This Morning To Send SES Satellite Into Space

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Early today, at from Cape Canaveral, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off to send into space the SES satellite. The communication satellite will deliver TV, broadband and data relay services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, and the Middle East.

After being delayed for four days because of technical issues, the rocket’s engines ignited at 12:45 a.m. EDT.

The booster provided the public a beautiful show as it started its journey into the sky. It will boost the SES-12 satellite which weights 11,800 pounds, into a “super-synchronous” transfer orbit. The satellite also has a propulsion system which will be used to boost it into a circular orbit 22,300 miles over the equator. The satellite will take 24 hours to orbit the Earth, so it will appear stationary in the sky.

The Only Way to Have a Good Connectivity In Asia-Pacific Regions

The Falcon 9 boosted SES-12 into the “super-synchronous” transfer orbit, adding over five years to the lifetime of the satellite, which will not need a lot of propellant to each the equatorial orbit.

Martin Halliwell is the chief technical officer of SES. He said about Falcon 9 that:

“We get a lot of performance from this vehicle. We’re going really high. We’re almost going to the limit of what we can do with the spacecraft. The good side of all this is it actually extends our (on orbit) life capability from 15 to 22 years. That’s enormous.”

John-Paul Hemingway is the CEO of SES Networks. He said that the satellite would provide communications services, and with a growing in the numbers of the consumers, SES-12 will deliver high-quality content. Last week, Hemingway stated in an interview that:

“We believe there are around about a billion people in the Asia-Pacific market that still don’t have good connectivity through the devices you’re all holding in your hands right now. And satellite is one, and sometimes the only way to connect 2G, 3G, and 4G to those markets.”

Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.